1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shift lever device for use in an automatic transmission of the type in which a shift lever is locked in a park position under a predetermined condition. In particular, the present invention concerns a shift lever device for an automatic transmission which is designed to be convenient for performing an inspection on an inspection line after assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
An automobile with an automatic transmission is known, in which a shift lever locking device and a steering locking device are coupled to each other by a control wire. Such an automobile is disclosed in the specification of, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-135352. In the above-described type of automobile, when a steering locking device is locked by the operation of a key, a shift lever is locked in a park position. On the other hand, when the shift lever is at a position other than the park position, the locking of the steering locking device is blocked so as to prevent the key from being removed.
On the assembly line and inspection line of vehicles, assembly and inspection is performed on a vehicle while the vehicle is being moved by a conveyor 3 with one of the front wheels 1 (the left one as viewed in FIG. 20) and one of rear wheels 2 (the left one as viewed in FIG. 20) being on the conveyor 3. The other wheels are rolled on a floor, as shown in FIG. 20. In that case, if a shift lever is at the park position, the driving wheels of a vehicle are locked, and the wheels 1 and 2 will fall from the conveyor 3. So, the shift lever has to be positioned at a neutral position.
On the inspection line, inspection must be made as to whether or not the main key, located on the driver's side, can be inserted into a key cylinder in the doors and a key cylinder in the trunk. In order to carry out this inspection, the key must be removed from the key cylinder on the driver's side. However, the key cannot be removed unless the shift lever is shifted to the park position. As stated above, shifting of the shift lever to the park position locks the wheels.